Mrs Hitler

[Aemilius Paulus]

really? i have nothing wrong with black people, and i hate obama. racism has nothing to do with it; both parties are multi-racial.

I did not say everyone is racist. I said many are. And there is a world of difference between subtle, unintentional racism and outright hate. Whatever it may be, Republicans are not multi-racial. Michael Steele is joke, every black professor in my Uni fumes over his role in Republican party. They are using him, and he is not even a conservative in many issues.

why do you keep thinking that "Muslim" is an insult?

I do not. I think that it is an insult to ignore Obama's assurances and a load of facts to deliberately spread misinformation, using the Obama's purported Moslem faith as if it was an bad thing - which it is for many of the Republicans in US, who are intolerant of Muslims. Especially when it is done by supposedly respectable politicians.

you know nobody will contest racial slurs.

Sorry, I do not understand. Can you please elaborate?

this isnt the thread to be discussing this anyway. im requesting a lock.

...and I am requesting you to be reminded of the fact other people exist besides you and that some of them may rather continue the thread and do, in fact have their own opinions. The mods will lock it when they believe it is right do so. You came here, misinterpreted my post aimed at Hooah, and now you, and now you want to lock this thread just because you do not like its direction or because for some reason you feel you are losing?

Just stop posting and go to some other thread - no need to spoil the whole thing. I do not know if it is just the mean, pessimistic me, but the quote screamed of self-centredness. There is plenty of threads for everyone here, believe me

Not to mention, Backroom threads are meant to go off-topic,as long as the debate is reasonable and civil.

[Azathoth]

do you know why grades are slipping? gangs, drugs, alcohol, no punishments for not handing in work. i have met dozens of people just in my classes in the last 2 years that will never get anywhere because they dont give a damn. people like them bring grades down alot.

summer vacation does not bring grades down.

if he wants to shorten summer vacation, why not add the same amount of time to the winter vacation? 2 2-month long breaks during the year. then right as you start to get bored.....school!

Long summer vacations are indeed bad in terms of education; that's basically two-plus months for your brain to atrophy. Your brain does not like useless BS and is constantly deleting "junk" to make room for important memories and information. Knowing how to divide polynomials is, to your brain, worthless. Since this information is not being reinforced throughout the summer, students often have to "relearn" the same things over and over. For example, for PreCalculus this year, so far we've been going over functions-related material that I first learned 3-4 years ago.

You have a massive personal bias regarding this issue, anyone can see that. That said, so do I.

No shortened vacations! Down with Obumma!

US has rather brief school-times in comparison.

I read in an article about this very topic that US students have more instructional hours per year than most students in other countries (like, a hundred more than Japan, 200 more than Taiwan or something like that). Maybe a factor is that we're just inefficient?

Hehe, I know, I am no Obama fan myself, but you have to understand that on the Senate floor individuals are expected to act civil and not to insult other persons directly. Calling the United States President a "liar" literally in his face, during a Senate session is unprecedented in US.

Remember the early 19th century, when politicians used to have duels and beat the **** out of each other? Imagine Joe Wilson performing a somersault jump-kick right into Obama's face instead of accusing Obama of lying.

[Aemilius Paulus]

I read in an article about this very topic that US students have more instructional hours per year than most students in other countries (like, a hundred more than Japan, 200 more than Taiwan or something like that). Maybe a factor is that we're just inefficient?

Hmm, I remember reading the same, but I did not trust it. It seems impossible. They have school on Saturdays in Japan. Long hours, little holidays, and AFAIK, small summer vacation (not sure about the last one though). Therefore, I did not pay attention to the source. I wonder what they mean by "instructional hours"? In general, US children have much less time, and it is different for every state.

Remember the early 19th century, when politicians used to have duels and beat the **** out of each other? Imagine Joe Wilson performing a somersault jump-kick right into Obama's face instead of accusing Obama of lying.

Yeah, but that was then, of course. Still, Preston Brooks was classic